BALLET AND BEYOND
Wilhelmina S. Orozco
Why do we watch cultural shows? Why do our kababayan line up to buy tickets no matter how long the queue is? Why do they smile at the mere mention of their favorite media star? I think that’s the wonder of art and culture in general. The artistic products that the media stars put out provide the audience, the viewers, their fans with respite from the daily struggles to eke out a living. The messages they give, whether it is about their life, or their latest escapades with their romantic partners provide a glimpse of a starry life, maybe reachable or unreachable but nonetheless remaining attractive, interesting and inspiring for them.
Now there is such a thing as high or low brow shows. Classical ballet is one of those high brow elite arts that the masses generally shy away from watching as they have been used to the so-called “masa entertainment fare” on luncheon TV programs with gyrating dancers dressed in skimpy attire, or the acrobatic teenagers aping the crotch-catching steps of Michael Jackson. They are enticed no end to remain glued on TV no matter how repetitive, how monotonous the music coming from these programs are, as they also contain “Manalo ng milyun-milyun” promos, making their dream of becoming instant millionaires a possibility, whether as direct or home viewer.
But Lisa Macuja-Elizalde is not one to skip her dream of bringing ballet to the masses, no matter what the odds are stacked against her high brow field. Instead, she continues to produce shows that could generate interest, not only mere viewing but also educating the audience on what is great art. Her latest show, “Ballet, Band and Ballads” attests to this.
In this program, Lisa showcases Ballet Manila, her dancing ballet group with themes that are not commonly used in our everyday cultural entertainment shows. In “Less Sylphides,”, music by Frederic Chopin ‘s Les Sylphides, and choreography by Bam Damian III, the dancers are all male, with bare chests, and wearing half petticoat tied at the back executing vigorous ballet steps in very manly yet graceful ways, not one moment exhibiting any effeminate stance. It was refreshing watching that piece as if we were watching a group of swans floating on air and stepping down on the ground in gay abandon.
One of two paired pieces was “Grand Pas Classique” with music by Daniel Auber and choreography by Alexander Gorsky performed by Elena Chernova and her partner I don’t know which of these two: Nazer Salgado or Nino Guevarra. Elena, a Caucasian danced very lightly and made pirouettes that were too dazzling to count. The audience was so mesmerized by her dancing and of course her lone white beauty among the group of kayumanggi dancers that they gave her a loud applause.
The other piece was “Summer’s End”, performed by no less than the ballet icon Lisa, together with Rudy de Dios, with music by Chopin’s Concerto in E minor Opus 10 and choreography by Norman Walker. The story is the ill fate of two lovers whose feelings for each other are so passionate that they explored the heights and depths of romance, but in the end have to be separated from each other. The ending shows spotlights focused on the two and the rest of the stage in dark background thereby hinting at that great divide separating them. This was visual expression of romantic break-up at its best. Of course, the dance elicited great applause from the audience, a sincere appreciation especially at this time when Lisa would be rarely dancing on stage given her busy schedule of being the artistic director of the company.
“Alla Luce del Sole” with music by Josh Groban, choreography, concept, costume and light design and concept by Manuel Molina. has 31 male and female dancers, dressed in gray and black long robes, covered faces and heads dancing together, winding their way through the stage, molding themselves as humans, and later on as natural shapes as a mountain. “Alla” carries the theme of again, another kind of unfulfilled love, with the woman, rising up above this “human-made” mountain and then dropping down to her death. The man dances to retrieve her body covered by the group of dancers, lifeless, and then carries it on his shoulders, only to kill himself in the end also.
In between the various ballet pieces are the pop tunes sang by Side A band like “Hold On,” and “Got to Believe in Magic,” among others. This group was formed in 1985 and continues to produce albums, that carry songs popularized over the radio and in live performances by the band members who exhibit confident stage presence, at the end, making the audience stand for their last piece. Unfortunately, the audience is so tame that only a few swayed to the beat of the song which carries a message about a romantic person, waiting for love to fall his or her way.
Somehow, the repertoire that night of 17th February 2011 at Aliw Theatre shows an inclination towards heartbreaking love affairs, unrequited love, love abandoned, and all the ramifications of romantic attachments which are hot stuff among the majority of our cultural audiences. I guess, Lisa has captured the mindset of the Filipino viewers so that she prepared this program just to be able to make them appreciate ballet as well, an artform that usually appeals only to the highly educated and culturatti. Having been schooled in Russia with its educational program emphasizing not only expertise in the artform but also in social processes, Lisa has read the minds and hearts of the Filipino people and must be accorded our salute for her unending energy to bring culture to the masses.
Catch the program tonight and tomorrow night at Aliw Theatre again. Soprano Fides Cuyugan, our very own cultural music gem will be there tonight.
PS A legislative move exists to make another company the National Ballet Company of the country which is rather destructive and divisive of the current state of our culture. I think this move should not prosper because making a company lay claim to being THE company worthwhile being labeled as such is opening the cultural discourse to political wranglings. The arts should be politics-free – free from the manipulation of individuals, groups and government officials into nurturing only their chosen artists instead of making the arts reachable to everyone, especially the masses regardless of political color.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
AUSTRALIAN DESIGNER DR. RICK BENNETT
By Wilhelmina S. Orozco
Rarely do we find advocates who reveal the ins and outs of a project – from the time it is conceived to its financial resources and its implementation. Most of the time, we are already just presented the complete product, whether it be an activity, a service, or an object. But the process of realizing a project, especially one with social advocacy, is important to many people in society. A need exists to inform and educate everyone on how they themselves can be advocate, how they can replicate or conduct their own projects that will redound to a better appreciation and education of the public.
Hence, this was what Dr. Rick Bennett an Australian designer came here for and talked about at the Ayala Museum last Saturday, 29th of January 2011. Dr. Bennett is the Founder and Director of Omnium Research and a faculty member of the New South Wales University. Being a designer, his role has been to help in educating marginalized peoples and enhance the production of literacy materials through design like those for Africans - the need to guard against HIV-AIDS and malaria. In the Philippines, he helped the Lumbang, Laguna embroiderers create a public art, the sewn mosaic which now graces the wall of the College of St. Benilde. Another thing he did was the public installation of flowers made of recycled paper produced by the women from Dasmarinas, Cavite in order to emphasize the need to protect the environment.
In Uganda, Dr. Bennett’s project made stickers teaching the children to wash their hands with soap and water. In Kenya, his group donated uniform T-shirt for a baseball team with captions like “Use a condom,” “Choose Safe Sex,” and “Chung Aids” chung a word in Kenyan dialect meaning “get rid of.” Dr. Bennett mentioned how he had to hurdle government corrupt practices in Kenya too. When he sent the uniforms via parcel, the officials wanted him to pay $1,000 for the package. He demurred and said it was a donation. Later on it was allowed to be brought to the recipients, the students playing football in a school, free of charge.
The school has many black male children all aspiring to be big league football players. But sadly, in the picture he showed us, only one was wearing a pair of football shoes while the others were barefooted. And that was the custom in the place, he said.
From barong to mosaic piece
Dr. Bennett met a Filipina whom he had asked to direct him to a place where the people had some craft skills. He was brought to Lumbang, Laguna, where the women have been making barong since the Spanish era. Their works are very refined, done by hand on pina cloth; however, it takes several days to finish a barong and the income is not really big enough for the family. Hence, in one household, several women and girls could be involved in the undertaking.
When Dr. Bennett asked them how much it would cost to do a size of about 4” x 6” of embroidery on pina, and numbering 2,566 pieces, they were at a loss how to name their price. So, Dr. Bennett got the eldest of the group, gave her a piece of paper where he had written the price that he was ready to pay. Once the group had given the price then the lady would open the paper and reveal the amount. To Dr. Bennett’s consternation, the women merely quoted a price of P15,000 and even lowered it to P10,000 when he said, “What?” Then he asked the lady to open the paper and it read, “P50,000.00.” He later on told them that they should know how to cost their work or else they would get “s______” by middle agents who overprice the product once it reaches the market.
Actually, the embroidered product to be finished was based on an embroidery design of a photograph of the San Roque chapel found in Lumbang which Dr. Bennett included in the design after his visit. He found the place quaint, a typical Philippine town still with greenery and a Catholic chapel in it. He made a mosaic picture of his photographs, proposed to the College of St. Benilde the project and then went on to gather the embroiderers to finish it.
Numbering 79 the embroiderers, included young and even older women whose skills were handed down to them by their relatives. “I approached the women and asked, ‘Can you do this?’ They replied they are scared of doing it because it might not be correct. I replied to them, ‘ll take care of your scare but you take care of the embroidery,’” Dr. Bennette narrated. Actually, he just gave them the colors of each piece to be sewn and allowed the women to make their own designs. Some put in a bird, another a flower, and others the scenery of Lumbang itself. When it was done, the group helped Dr. Bennett look for a framing shop – two frames made of palo china and the mosaic piece sandwiched in between. Then on top was a hook to tack it on the wall.
At the hanging ceremonies at the CSB, the women were very much excited because it was the first time for many to have traveled to Manila. When they saw their pieces hanging on the wall from top to almost the ceiling of the building, they were overwhelmed. Why because their work can now be appreciated by more people; moreover, they are now recognized. Angelina Lagrosa said, “Napaiyak ako sa tuwa. Di naming akalaing kaganda at kalaki ang aming ginawa.” (Icried tears of joy. We didn’t know how beautiful and huge what we had done.) Ms. Osio said, “Nabigyan ng kahulugan ang aming gawa.” (Our work has now been given recognition.) Cory Maano said, “Lubos na kasiyahan at pasasalamat sa pag-promote ng aming gawa.” (Extreme joy and gratitude for promoting our work.) The project has continued for covers of cushions with orders coming from Australia through the connections made by Dr. Bennett.
DASMANILA –flowers at Ayala
Another project of Dr. Bennett, ecological in nature, took him to Dasmarinas, Cavite, a relocation place for residents of Tondo and other slum areas in MetroManila. He found there women producing bags out of recycled materials from tetrapak juices. To start the project, he asked them, “Do you know why Manila was given its name?” The women, most of whom hardly went to school, were surprised to know that the name Maynila actually came from the word, “Nilad, a kind of flower. Manila Bay during the Spanish era was covered with nilad and so when people asked where it was, they would answer, “Dun sa may nilad,” or where there are many nilad flowers, until it became “Maynilad,” and finally “Manila.”
Dr. Bennett showed us an old photograph of that time then when water was clear and the people still navigated through the waters using the casko. But now, that scenery is gone and the river is highly polluted, full of wastes of a consumerist society.
While the flowers were being made, Dr. Bennett looked for a place to display them in two months when the women would have finished all. He found the Ayala Museum with a fountain in its façade ideal for it. He informed the director there that his project is connected with urban pollution and that through art, the people could appreciate the need to act on it. Then he explained what the women had done. He was given only 3 weeks to prepare as his concept luckily coincided with a celebration honoring the Pasig River. So the women rushed to make several thousands of flowers.
During the launching of the project, sometime in November, 2010, each visitor was given a flower to put inside steel tube vases placed around the fountain which then recreated a beautiful scenery of a landscape with a river and flowers winding around it. The project was so successful that it was brought to Glorietta and to Cebu to highlight the need to face the ecological challenges facing the Pasig River and all surrounding urban waterways. It will also be brought to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia on March 15, 2011.
“Everybody needs art. Here in MetroManila, we see lots of concrete, cables, and hardly any kind of art. It’s quite depressing. England is the same – gray. Everyday it’s foggy there which is why I moved to Australia where at least you get to see blue skies,” Dr. Bennett opined.
Moving to Australia in 1990, Dr. Bennett became active in woodwork, sculpturing and then gravitated to studying how people learn and how to teach. Eventually, he taught design graphics which makes students focus on thinking creatively. His preference for design is rooted in the ideas of Paul Rand, “Design is a personal activity that springs from the creative impulse of an individual, ” and of Neville Brady who said that there are many designers who deal with what and how, but never ask “Why?” to which this author would raise another question, “So what?”
But the work of Dr. Bennett is closely connected with the technologies of today. His group, Omnium Research Group of the College of Fine Arts in New South Wales University connects online with designers, artists and theorists worldwide about creativity, and the need to be creative reaching out to the marginalized sectors of the world in every continent. Participants to this online connectivity now number 200 in 30 countries made up of teachers, students and professionals who contribute their ideas on how to use design when undertaking a social advocacy. His next project would bring him to Vietnam.
Public Art Advocacy gathers adherents who could be excited by the colors, shapes and meaning that the objects present. It provokes the viewers to ask questions, to find out solutions to social problems. For example, the flowers made from recycled materials produce a feeling that eventually, we may not be holding real flowers anymore in the future given the fast deterioration of our soils due to pollution. Or that sewn mosaic mural at the CSB shows us that simple women folks’ creativity could be harnessed to provide beauty to everyone, allowing us to appreciate the world and its surroundings. Then of course, literacy materials, like those on health that Dr. Bennett showed, could be better understood considering how colorful they are. (By the way, he said even the choice of colors had to be close to that which is indigenous to the group of beneficiaries.)
But one thing that is very gratifying he said was that the Filipino people can be counted upon anytime to produce something artistic despite the fact that we are always eating in between those periods of production. While watching the women produce the embroidery for a day, he found himself being offered snacks at 9 in the morning, lunch at about 11 am, and then snacks again in the afternoon.
Actually, eating is not exactly what the people are fond of, but rather the camaraderie of eating together and being able to get to know each other more. This is “social eating” which makes our culture highly personal and human-driven, rather than product-driven. For us, artistic collective undertaking becomes meaningful and important when the people are bound by human relationships. Nonetheless, Dr. Bennett’s projects showed us that single-mindedness in bringing about art can raise a people’s self-esteem, and generate public awareness of the significance of the project. Hence, thank God for people like Dr. Bennett who could raise public awareness about our people’s (especially women’s) artistic skills from local to international grounds.
For those who want to read more about Dr. Bennette, his works can be accessed through http://creativewaves.omnium.net.
Rarely do we find advocates who reveal the ins and outs of a project – from the time it is conceived to its financial resources and its implementation. Most of the time, we are already just presented the complete product, whether it be an activity, a service, or an object. But the process of realizing a project, especially one with social advocacy, is important to many people in society. A need exists to inform and educate everyone on how they themselves can be advocate, how they can replicate or conduct their own projects that will redound to a better appreciation and education of the public.
Hence, this was what Dr. Rick Bennett an Australian designer came here for and talked about at the Ayala Museum last Saturday, 29th of January 2011. Dr. Bennett is the Founder and Director of Omnium Research and a faculty member of the New South Wales University. Being a designer, his role has been to help in educating marginalized peoples and enhance the production of literacy materials through design like those for Africans - the need to guard against HIV-AIDS and malaria. In the Philippines, he helped the Lumbang, Laguna embroiderers create a public art, the sewn mosaic which now graces the wall of the College of St. Benilde. Another thing he did was the public installation of flowers made of recycled paper produced by the women from Dasmarinas, Cavite in order to emphasize the need to protect the environment.
In Uganda, Dr. Bennett’s project made stickers teaching the children to wash their hands with soap and water. In Kenya, his group donated uniform T-shirt for a baseball team with captions like “Use a condom,” “Choose Safe Sex,” and “Chung Aids” chung a word in Kenyan dialect meaning “get rid of.” Dr. Bennett mentioned how he had to hurdle government corrupt practices in Kenya too. When he sent the uniforms via parcel, the officials wanted him to pay $1,000 for the package. He demurred and said it was a donation. Later on it was allowed to be brought to the recipients, the students playing football in a school, free of charge.
The school has many black male children all aspiring to be big league football players. But sadly, in the picture he showed us, only one was wearing a pair of football shoes while the others were barefooted. And that was the custom in the place, he said.
From barong to mosaic piece
Dr. Bennett met a Filipina whom he had asked to direct him to a place where the people had some craft skills. He was brought to Lumbang, Laguna, where the women have been making barong since the Spanish era. Their works are very refined, done by hand on pina cloth; however, it takes several days to finish a barong and the income is not really big enough for the family. Hence, in one household, several women and girls could be involved in the undertaking.
When Dr. Bennett asked them how much it would cost to do a size of about 4” x 6” of embroidery on pina, and numbering 2,566 pieces, they were at a loss how to name their price. So, Dr. Bennett got the eldest of the group, gave her a piece of paper where he had written the price that he was ready to pay. Once the group had given the price then the lady would open the paper and reveal the amount. To Dr. Bennett’s consternation, the women merely quoted a price of P15,000 and even lowered it to P10,000 when he said, “What?” Then he asked the lady to open the paper and it read, “P50,000.00.” He later on told them that they should know how to cost their work or else they would get “s______” by middle agents who overprice the product once it reaches the market.
Actually, the embroidered product to be finished was based on an embroidery design of a photograph of the San Roque chapel found in Lumbang which Dr. Bennett included in the design after his visit. He found the place quaint, a typical Philippine town still with greenery and a Catholic chapel in it. He made a mosaic picture of his photographs, proposed to the College of St. Benilde the project and then went on to gather the embroiderers to finish it.
Numbering 79 the embroiderers, included young and even older women whose skills were handed down to them by their relatives. “I approached the women and asked, ‘Can you do this?’ They replied they are scared of doing it because it might not be correct. I replied to them, ‘ll take care of your scare but you take care of the embroidery,’” Dr. Bennette narrated. Actually, he just gave them the colors of each piece to be sewn and allowed the women to make their own designs. Some put in a bird, another a flower, and others the scenery of Lumbang itself. When it was done, the group helped Dr. Bennett look for a framing shop – two frames made of palo china and the mosaic piece sandwiched in between. Then on top was a hook to tack it on the wall.
At the hanging ceremonies at the CSB, the women were very much excited because it was the first time for many to have traveled to Manila. When they saw their pieces hanging on the wall from top to almost the ceiling of the building, they were overwhelmed. Why because their work can now be appreciated by more people; moreover, they are now recognized. Angelina Lagrosa said, “Napaiyak ako sa tuwa. Di naming akalaing kaganda at kalaki ang aming ginawa.” (Icried tears of joy. We didn’t know how beautiful and huge what we had done.) Ms. Osio said, “Nabigyan ng kahulugan ang aming gawa.” (Our work has now been given recognition.) Cory Maano said, “Lubos na kasiyahan at pasasalamat sa pag-promote ng aming gawa.” (Extreme joy and gratitude for promoting our work.) The project has continued for covers of cushions with orders coming from Australia through the connections made by Dr. Bennett.
DASMANILA –flowers at Ayala
Another project of Dr. Bennett, ecological in nature, took him to Dasmarinas, Cavite, a relocation place for residents of Tondo and other slum areas in MetroManila. He found there women producing bags out of recycled materials from tetrapak juices. To start the project, he asked them, “Do you know why Manila was given its name?” The women, most of whom hardly went to school, were surprised to know that the name Maynila actually came from the word, “Nilad, a kind of flower. Manila Bay during the Spanish era was covered with nilad and so when people asked where it was, they would answer, “Dun sa may nilad,” or where there are many nilad flowers, until it became “Maynilad,” and finally “Manila.”
Dr. Bennett showed us an old photograph of that time then when water was clear and the people still navigated through the waters using the casko. But now, that scenery is gone and the river is highly polluted, full of wastes of a consumerist society.
While the flowers were being made, Dr. Bennett looked for a place to display them in two months when the women would have finished all. He found the Ayala Museum with a fountain in its façade ideal for it. He informed the director there that his project is connected with urban pollution and that through art, the people could appreciate the need to act on it. Then he explained what the women had done. He was given only 3 weeks to prepare as his concept luckily coincided with a celebration honoring the Pasig River. So the women rushed to make several thousands of flowers.
During the launching of the project, sometime in November, 2010, each visitor was given a flower to put inside steel tube vases placed around the fountain which then recreated a beautiful scenery of a landscape with a river and flowers winding around it. The project was so successful that it was brought to Glorietta and to Cebu to highlight the need to face the ecological challenges facing the Pasig River and all surrounding urban waterways. It will also be brought to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia on March 15, 2011.
“Everybody needs art. Here in MetroManila, we see lots of concrete, cables, and hardly any kind of art. It’s quite depressing. England is the same – gray. Everyday it’s foggy there which is why I moved to Australia where at least you get to see blue skies,” Dr. Bennett opined.
Moving to Australia in 1990, Dr. Bennett became active in woodwork, sculpturing and then gravitated to studying how people learn and how to teach. Eventually, he taught design graphics which makes students focus on thinking creatively. His preference for design is rooted in the ideas of Paul Rand, “Design is a personal activity that springs from the creative impulse of an individual, ” and of Neville Brady who said that there are many designers who deal with what and how, but never ask “Why?” to which this author would raise another question, “So what?”
But the work of Dr. Bennett is closely connected with the technologies of today. His group, Omnium Research Group of the College of Fine Arts in New South Wales University connects online with designers, artists and theorists worldwide about creativity, and the need to be creative reaching out to the marginalized sectors of the world in every continent. Participants to this online connectivity now number 200 in 30 countries made up of teachers, students and professionals who contribute their ideas on how to use design when undertaking a social advocacy. His next project would bring him to Vietnam.
Public Art Advocacy gathers adherents who could be excited by the colors, shapes and meaning that the objects present. It provokes the viewers to ask questions, to find out solutions to social problems. For example, the flowers made from recycled materials produce a feeling that eventually, we may not be holding real flowers anymore in the future given the fast deterioration of our soils due to pollution. Or that sewn mosaic mural at the CSB shows us that simple women folks’ creativity could be harnessed to provide beauty to everyone, allowing us to appreciate the world and its surroundings. Then of course, literacy materials, like those on health that Dr. Bennett showed, could be better understood considering how colorful they are. (By the way, he said even the choice of colors had to be close to that which is indigenous to the group of beneficiaries.)
But one thing that is very gratifying he said was that the Filipino people can be counted upon anytime to produce something artistic despite the fact that we are always eating in between those periods of production. While watching the women produce the embroidery for a day, he found himself being offered snacks at 9 in the morning, lunch at about 11 am, and then snacks again in the afternoon.
Actually, eating is not exactly what the people are fond of, but rather the camaraderie of eating together and being able to get to know each other more. This is “social eating” which makes our culture highly personal and human-driven, rather than product-driven. For us, artistic collective undertaking becomes meaningful and important when the people are bound by human relationships. Nonetheless, Dr. Bennett’s projects showed us that single-mindedness in bringing about art can raise a people’s self-esteem, and generate public awareness of the significance of the project. Hence, thank God for people like Dr. Bennett who could raise public awareness about our people’s (especially women’s) artistic skills from local to international grounds.
For those who want to read more about Dr. Bennette, his works can be accessed through http://creativewaves.omnium.net.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
UNEXAMINED CULTURAL CENTERS
I'VE BEEN READING A BOOK ABOUT mEXICAN ART AND CULTURE AND came across perspectives of pride, originality and authentic existence of indigenous arts and artists. The Mexicans of Inca and Mayan descent are staunch protectors of their art. A story is told in the book that a westerner came to order a certain craft from a man. It was so cheap that he decided to sell it by the thousands in his country. But when he came back to clinch the deal so that the man would be producing it by the thousands, he was shocked: the man rejected the deal. Why because he did not want to lose his freedom, to breathe, to enjoy life, to enjoy his work. If he had accepted the deal, it would have meant his being at his working table all day and perhaps all night long just fulfilling the quota. And that is not his idea of life at all.
I won't say that we are far away from that authentic artistic inner life of the man mentioned above, but we could probably do more if only our cultural institutions were not so riddled with political wranglings. In one institution, a past officer continues to hold sway in the organization, practically running it again. In another institution, favorite groups, teams and artists are enjoying the budgetary allocations. Worse yet, officers are dipping their fingers into the pie instead of being nurturers of artists. Not only in government institutions but also in non-government groups, there are issues to be resolved. In an association the top officer grabbed the grand prize at the Christmas party despite the fact that he already enjoys lucrative perks like "uncontrolled and capricious" use of funds of the association which runs into millions of pesos. Yet the ordinary members can hardly afford to put out their artistic product for lack of funds to finance its production.
In other words, there seems to be a lapse in moral governance, a lack in democratic processes so that everyone enjoys the benefits due them.
It is time to sit back and reflect on what we can do. In the case of government cultural institutions, I suggest that all of them should undergo financial and management audit. Here are the standards:
1. Is the institution spreading the benefits to as many groups and artists as possible?
2. Are the artists being compensated fairly?
3. Are the administrators artists themselves and so presumed to be sensitive to the plight of artists?
4. Are the officials and officers of the organizations hands off the budget for artists and artworks? Are they doing their jobs as nurturers others instead of nurturers of themselves?
5. How free are the artists to voice out their comments and opinions in running the organization? (After Cory won the presidency, I was one of those who presented an idea into how the cultural program of the government should look like. Taking off from the Cuban experience, I presented one that shows in detail how each artistic grouping would be led by leaders who would then form the core of national officers of the cultural sector of the country. Unfortunately, most of those running the cultural institutions now are still carry over of the Marcos regime who hardly have changed the cultural make up of the country. We don't hear nor read of artistic movements that jar our sense of injustice, or heighten our sense admiration and love for our country. Instead we have cutie cutie presentations, hewing close to the entertainment we find on tv. It seems it is only Lisa Macuja who has been able to put direction in her field of ballet -- showcasing classics and now going to Filipino themes thereby showing a holistic view of culture.
6. How much is allocated for artistic production, for artists' honoraria, for administration?
7. Is there a feedback mechanism after every artistic event or program from the audience?
8. Has it contributed to developing our artistic views, contributed to the creation of an artistic movement, or deepen our understanding of life through the artwork?
Many more questions may be raised given a committee that will handle the audit with great dedication.
After all, the unexamined (artistic) life is not worth living, to paraphrase Socrates.
I won't say that we are far away from that authentic artistic inner life of the man mentioned above, but we could probably do more if only our cultural institutions were not so riddled with political wranglings. In one institution, a past officer continues to hold sway in the organization, practically running it again. In another institution, favorite groups, teams and artists are enjoying the budgetary allocations. Worse yet, officers are dipping their fingers into the pie instead of being nurturers of artists. Not only in government institutions but also in non-government groups, there are issues to be resolved. In an association the top officer grabbed the grand prize at the Christmas party despite the fact that he already enjoys lucrative perks like "uncontrolled and capricious" use of funds of the association which runs into millions of pesos. Yet the ordinary members can hardly afford to put out their artistic product for lack of funds to finance its production.
In other words, there seems to be a lapse in moral governance, a lack in democratic processes so that everyone enjoys the benefits due them.
It is time to sit back and reflect on what we can do. In the case of government cultural institutions, I suggest that all of them should undergo financial and management audit. Here are the standards:
1. Is the institution spreading the benefits to as many groups and artists as possible?
2. Are the artists being compensated fairly?
3. Are the administrators artists themselves and so presumed to be sensitive to the plight of artists?
4. Are the officials and officers of the organizations hands off the budget for artists and artworks? Are they doing their jobs as nurturers others instead of nurturers of themselves?
5. How free are the artists to voice out their comments and opinions in running the organization? (After Cory won the presidency, I was one of those who presented an idea into how the cultural program of the government should look like. Taking off from the Cuban experience, I presented one that shows in detail how each artistic grouping would be led by leaders who would then form the core of national officers of the cultural sector of the country. Unfortunately, most of those running the cultural institutions now are still carry over of the Marcos regime who hardly have changed the cultural make up of the country. We don't hear nor read of artistic movements that jar our sense of injustice, or heighten our sense admiration and love for our country. Instead we have cutie cutie presentations, hewing close to the entertainment we find on tv. It seems it is only Lisa Macuja who has been able to put direction in her field of ballet -- showcasing classics and now going to Filipino themes thereby showing a holistic view of culture.
6. How much is allocated for artistic production, for artists' honoraria, for administration?
7. Is there a feedback mechanism after every artistic event or program from the audience?
8. Has it contributed to developing our artistic views, contributed to the creation of an artistic movement, or deepen our understanding of life through the artwork?
Many more questions may be raised given a committee that will handle the audit with great dedication.
After all, the unexamined (artistic) life is not worth living, to paraphrase Socrates.
Friday, November 12, 2010
ON DIRECTING MOZART’S MAGIC FLUTE
By Wilhelmina S. Orozco
Directing an opera in the Philippines is like putting up a business in the Makati Central District, meaning it is an expensive venture. But Alegria Ferrer, or Ria, the director and voice professor at the University of the Philippines, is a very convincing cultural mover that she has been blessed with grants to present the Magic Flute, her 4th opera.
For Ria, presenting an opera requires an analysis of the composer as well as the piece. The Magic Flute is a Singspiele, a popular form during Mozart’s time that includes both signing and spoken dialogue. It integrates music, libretto (words and lyrics) concept, set and lights design, and costumes. Hence, a director needs to consider these and on top of that, must have that dedication to the arts with the objectives of being able to educate and entertain, Ria expounded on her philosophy on theatre.
“Good triumphs over evil. The opera centers on the battle between the two and the good triumphs over all. (Moreover) Mozart’s Magic Flute showcases his mastery of the classical opera and stretches the vocal limits of singers to perfection, no wonder that it has become one of the most beloved works in the operatic repertoire,” commented Ria in the program.
She viewed the Magic Flute production as a great opportunity for both amateurs – students, and professionals. The students learned from the production while the professionals experienced nostalgia of being in the academe again to experience working in a production. “Mangiyak-ngiyak ang mga professionals kasi ‘nakakamiss pala,’ they said, seeing the college again.
Before the performance, Ria held acting workshops so that the singers would know how to carve their characters on stage. “When doing theatre, we should allow ourselves to look like fools and otherwise. That’s theatre,” she told them, alluding to the seemingly questionable need for actors to forget their real selves and immerse themselves into their character roles.
How did Ria get her actors? She tapped voice students who were more than willing to take on the chance to play opera, except for the role of the slave which she offered to a guy whom she met while walking along the corridors of the UPCM, and who turned out to be a choir member but from outside the college.
The Queen of the Night posed a challenging task to fill up because it requires a voice that could reach high F. Luckily there is one graduate and now a professional singer who could do that, Joy Abalon and who has sung that aria already, Ria said.
Joy studied voice under Prof. Cecilia Valena at the Philippine High School for the arts, Teacher Bechie in her pursuit of Bachelor of Music at UP. Her awards include the 2002 NAMCYA top prize, and semi-finalist at the 2010 Lucia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Vocal Competition in New York City. Actually, at 3, a very young age, her parents already saw her potentials as she was already singing for the houseguests in her hometown in Bacacay, Albay.
Twice a week, Ria held rehearsals for three months and increased the sessions more often during the last two weeks prior to the opening date. Meanwhile, her other co-member, Kitchie, took care of the fund-raising, design and printing of posters, selling of tickets, and budgeting, such tasks actually so necessary in any production.
“We had two SRO (standing room only) nights, the first time that the College earned well from an opera.
“For me, the over-all preparation is the more important of all steps to producing a show. A good performance is only a bonus. If the process is not good, the performance is nothing. I think that the production filled up the task of an academe, to educate the students to come out well as students as all opportunities are given them,” said Ria.
“Before the start of the production, I had already visualized how each scene would run,” said Ria. Despite that, Ria said that working with the set designer and the music conductor of the orchestra were both critical in the production. She said that her having sat down with the set designer gave her pointers on how the set would look like to make her characters move on stage. She also sat down with Chino Toledo, the conductor of the orchestra, who provided live music, to make the tempo faster in keeping with the actors’ request. (Maybe during Mozart’s time, the tempo was all right for the audience who did not feel the need to rush their life.)
Ria rued that her fee for directing was not enough to make the presentation a success. Luckily, Chino waived his fee as well which could have run into hundreds of thousands. But she could not ignore nor dismiss her love of theatre easily.
The other operas that Ria has directed include: Dialogues of Carmellites which revolves around the guillotine execution of nuns for their Catholic religious belief, Hand of Bridge, which shows how two couples play bridge but with their thoughts running on other matters; and Miss Havisham’s Wedding Night, an adaptation of Emily Dickinson’s writings. The latter is Ria’s favorite as it depicts a one-man woman who waits for her lover to marry her for 50 years until she loses her mind.
Thus, when Ria ventured into directing Mozart’s Magic Flute, she already had been used to the ins and outs of operatic productions.
Now, she hopes to appear in an opera or a play herself, no longer as a big figure backstage but as the major character, a play that will challenge her acting skills this time regardless of whether she will sing or not.
Directing an opera in the Philippines is like putting up a business in the Makati Central District, meaning it is an expensive venture. But Alegria Ferrer, or Ria, the director and voice professor at the University of the Philippines, is a very convincing cultural mover that she has been blessed with grants to present the Magic Flute, her 4th opera.
For Ria, presenting an opera requires an analysis of the composer as well as the piece. The Magic Flute is a Singspiele, a popular form during Mozart’s time that includes both signing and spoken dialogue. It integrates music, libretto (words and lyrics) concept, set and lights design, and costumes. Hence, a director needs to consider these and on top of that, must have that dedication to the arts with the objectives of being able to educate and entertain, Ria expounded on her philosophy on theatre.
“Good triumphs over evil. The opera centers on the battle between the two and the good triumphs over all. (Moreover) Mozart’s Magic Flute showcases his mastery of the classical opera and stretches the vocal limits of singers to perfection, no wonder that it has become one of the most beloved works in the operatic repertoire,” commented Ria in the program.
She viewed the Magic Flute production as a great opportunity for both amateurs – students, and professionals. The students learned from the production while the professionals experienced nostalgia of being in the academe again to experience working in a production. “Mangiyak-ngiyak ang mga professionals kasi ‘nakakamiss pala,’ they said, seeing the college again.
Before the performance, Ria held acting workshops so that the singers would know how to carve their characters on stage. “When doing theatre, we should allow ourselves to look like fools and otherwise. That’s theatre,” she told them, alluding to the seemingly questionable need for actors to forget their real selves and immerse themselves into their character roles.
How did Ria get her actors? She tapped voice students who were more than willing to take on the chance to play opera, except for the role of the slave which she offered to a guy whom she met while walking along the corridors of the UPCM, and who turned out to be a choir member but from outside the college.
The Queen of the Night posed a challenging task to fill up because it requires a voice that could reach high F. Luckily there is one graduate and now a professional singer who could do that, Joy Abalon and who has sung that aria already, Ria said.
Joy studied voice under Prof. Cecilia Valena at the Philippine High School for the arts, Teacher Bechie in her pursuit of Bachelor of Music at UP. Her awards include the 2002 NAMCYA top prize, and semi-finalist at the 2010 Lucia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Vocal Competition in New York City. Actually, at 3, a very young age, her parents already saw her potentials as she was already singing for the houseguests in her hometown in Bacacay, Albay.
Twice a week, Ria held rehearsals for three months and increased the sessions more often during the last two weeks prior to the opening date. Meanwhile, her other co-member, Kitchie, took care of the fund-raising, design and printing of posters, selling of tickets, and budgeting, such tasks actually so necessary in any production.
“We had two SRO (standing room only) nights, the first time that the College earned well from an opera.
“For me, the over-all preparation is the more important of all steps to producing a show. A good performance is only a bonus. If the process is not good, the performance is nothing. I think that the production filled up the task of an academe, to educate the students to come out well as students as all opportunities are given them,” said Ria.
“Before the start of the production, I had already visualized how each scene would run,” said Ria. Despite that, Ria said that working with the set designer and the music conductor of the orchestra were both critical in the production. She said that her having sat down with the set designer gave her pointers on how the set would look like to make her characters move on stage. She also sat down with Chino Toledo, the conductor of the orchestra, who provided live music, to make the tempo faster in keeping with the actors’ request. (Maybe during Mozart’s time, the tempo was all right for the audience who did not feel the need to rush their life.)
Ria rued that her fee for directing was not enough to make the presentation a success. Luckily, Chino waived his fee as well which could have run into hundreds of thousands. But she could not ignore nor dismiss her love of theatre easily.
The other operas that Ria has directed include: Dialogues of Carmellites which revolves around the guillotine execution of nuns for their Catholic religious belief, Hand of Bridge, which shows how two couples play bridge but with their thoughts running on other matters; and Miss Havisham’s Wedding Night, an adaptation of Emily Dickinson’s writings. The latter is Ria’s favorite as it depicts a one-man woman who waits for her lover to marry her for 50 years until she loses her mind.
Thus, when Ria ventured into directing Mozart’s Magic Flute, she already had been used to the ins and outs of operatic productions.
Now, she hopes to appear in an opera or a play herself, no longer as a big figure backstage but as the major character, a play that will challenge her acting skills this time regardless of whether she will sing or not.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
UP COOP BESIEGED!
It’s highly unfair for the UP Administration to charge the UP Coop more than a million pesos for the use of the land in the latter’s operations. The law on Cooperatives expressly states in its Section2 that:
Section 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is the declared policy of the State to foster the creation and growth of cooperatives as a practical vehicle for promoting self-reliance and harnessing people power towards the attainment of economic development and social justice. The State shall encourage the private sector to undertake the actual formation and organization of cooperatives and shall create an atmosphere that is conducive to the growth and development of these cooperatives.
Toward this end, the Government and all its branches, subdivisions, instrumentalities and agencies shall ensure the provision of technical guidance, financial assistance and other services to enable said cooperatives to develop into viable and responsive economic enterprises and thereby bring about a strong cooperative movement that is free from any conditions that might infringe upon the autonomy or organizational integrity of cooperatives.
Unfortunately, instead of encouraging the growth of the UP Coop, it has chosen to impose a land rent that is atrociously detrimental to the operations of the Coop. It seems that whoever is running the community affairs Department of UP does not have the right information on how a coop is run and how the State must support its existence.
The UP Coop is just one of the many coops in the country struggling to survive despite the fierce competition that commercial businesses give in the economic field. I have been a member of this organization since the 60's knowing that for every centavo I would spend to buy a product, I would get something in return -- a dividend and other benefits.
But you see, the UP Administration has suddenly experienced getting largesse from the many uses of land in Diliman from big corporations and even government entities who rent the land on a BOT scheme, or similar arrangements. And so every squre meter of land in UP Diliman is now being eyed for commercial interests.
Actually, the use of UP should be for educational purposes. But what is educational about a junk food restaurant sitting on UP land? The government land has been converted to mercantile pursuits so that the mind of the students are being turned commercial too. How sad.
The education period of students should be spent on broadening their minds on the possibilities for their future participation, theoretical and moral, in the bigger world of social, political, economic and cultural (and spiritual) developments, it is now being turned into just pure education for knowledge sake.
UP is no longer the bastion of critical thinking but of accommodation to what is existing. Instead of being shapers of unique inventive knowledge and strong standpoints that will confront issues and conflicts with solutions for a peaceful, just and humane world, it is now the prime mover for commercial pursuits.
The UP Coop should be saved and protected as it caters to the market needs of students, faculty, staff, and other residents in UP. If the coop has members that are already graduated, not residing in UP,as well as non-UP members, that should not be taken against the Coop since the Law states that cooperatives should have open and voluntary membership.
Also, all the members have not voiced out any contrary opinion to the acceptance of non-UP as members of the Coop, so why should the UP administration impose that at all? Is it not the case that the Coop shall have the autonomy to decide for itself who should be its members?
Secondly, the fact that the UP coop is still a coop, then the State, the UP administration is compelled to render support to its operations.
I do look forward to a new set of officials of the UP Administration in 2011 so that we can feel and see a new educational setting -- one that is theoretically challenging and adept at preparing students for stronger perception of the people's problems, and for deep participation in the socio-political processes of the country; as well as humane in its approach to dealing with different constituents in its premises.
Despite the siege of the UP Administration, the officials of the UP Coop are bent on carrying the torch all the way to helping the members get their money's worth. Actually, they have just assumed their posts after a gruelling investigation of anomalous operations of the past administration.
Keep on!
Section 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is the declared policy of the State to foster the creation and growth of cooperatives as a practical vehicle for promoting self-reliance and harnessing people power towards the attainment of economic development and social justice. The State shall encourage the private sector to undertake the actual formation and organization of cooperatives and shall create an atmosphere that is conducive to the growth and development of these cooperatives.
Toward this end, the Government and all its branches, subdivisions, instrumentalities and agencies shall ensure the provision of technical guidance, financial assistance and other services to enable said cooperatives to develop into viable and responsive economic enterprises and thereby bring about a strong cooperative movement that is free from any conditions that might infringe upon the autonomy or organizational integrity of cooperatives.
Unfortunately, instead of encouraging the growth of the UP Coop, it has chosen to impose a land rent that is atrociously detrimental to the operations of the Coop. It seems that whoever is running the community affairs Department of UP does not have the right information on how a coop is run and how the State must support its existence.
The UP Coop is just one of the many coops in the country struggling to survive despite the fierce competition that commercial businesses give in the economic field. I have been a member of this organization since the 60's knowing that for every centavo I would spend to buy a product, I would get something in return -- a dividend and other benefits.
But you see, the UP Administration has suddenly experienced getting largesse from the many uses of land in Diliman from big corporations and even government entities who rent the land on a BOT scheme, or similar arrangements. And so every squre meter of land in UP Diliman is now being eyed for commercial interests.
Actually, the use of UP should be for educational purposes. But what is educational about a junk food restaurant sitting on UP land? The government land has been converted to mercantile pursuits so that the mind of the students are being turned commercial too. How sad.
The education period of students should be spent on broadening their minds on the possibilities for their future participation, theoretical and moral, in the bigger world of social, political, economic and cultural (and spiritual) developments, it is now being turned into just pure education for knowledge sake.
UP is no longer the bastion of critical thinking but of accommodation to what is existing. Instead of being shapers of unique inventive knowledge and strong standpoints that will confront issues and conflicts with solutions for a peaceful, just and humane world, it is now the prime mover for commercial pursuits.
The UP Coop should be saved and protected as it caters to the market needs of students, faculty, staff, and other residents in UP. If the coop has members that are already graduated, not residing in UP,as well as non-UP members, that should not be taken against the Coop since the Law states that cooperatives should have open and voluntary membership.
Also, all the members have not voiced out any contrary opinion to the acceptance of non-UP as members of the Coop, so why should the UP administration impose that at all? Is it not the case that the Coop shall have the autonomy to decide for itself who should be its members?
Secondly, the fact that the UP coop is still a coop, then the State, the UP administration is compelled to render support to its operations.
I do look forward to a new set of officials of the UP Administration in 2011 so that we can feel and see a new educational setting -- one that is theoretically challenging and adept at preparing students for stronger perception of the people's problems, and for deep participation in the socio-political processes of the country; as well as humane in its approach to dealing with different constituents in its premises.
Despite the siege of the UP Administration, the officials of the UP Coop are bent on carrying the torch all the way to helping the members get their money's worth. Actually, they have just assumed their posts after a gruelling investigation of anomalous operations of the past administration.
Keep on!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
SAMUT-SARI
The word "elderly" has been deleted in favor of 'senior citizens" in our country. I have misgivings about that the latter. It implies that there are "junior citizens" which then makes it a biased term. Why should the idea of the latter intrude into our concern with the elderlies?
Those who crafted laws apparently are mocking the state of the elderlies. This is why when I take a public vehicle and say "senior" inevitably the other passengers look at me. And the youth have taken cognizance of this discrimination by riding on it.
I was at Mercury drug store in Kamuning and the sales guy, a certain Marlon refused to answer my question as to how much Vitamin B Complex was. Three times I had to ask him before he would give me an answer. But when a young woman approached him, he readily answered. I pointed this out to him and he gave a lame answer that he was still attending to another customer.
As I was leaving, I told him, "Maybe you are afraid of old age. Don't be afraid of physical disintegration. Because growing old without wisdom is worse." The other senior customers looked at me as I mentioned that. I hope the owners of Mercury would read this.
There are other forms of discrimination. At SM Centerpoint, the janitors hover around me with their mops, as if I have to move out of the premises right away. I think the administration does not do this per se but the guards who are connected with Crame -- as their companies have to get their licenses from them.
So you see Folks, when we have to be true to our politics, we meet all kinds of obstacles especially when we grow old. Our country is not a place for retirement -- except when you have dollars, as the elderly foreign tourists who are being enticed to retire here.
****
I watched Clash of the Titans film, and found something wrong with the word Hades, as the name of the god from the netherworld. Hades in mythology is the name of the underworld and the god there is Pluto. I wonder why the filmmakers changed the name.
Also as I watch those digitally-made animation films, as "How To Train Your Dragon," I find too many objects on the screen, which make them too clattered up. I hope that the filmmakers would use fewer figures, and concentrate on just plain storytelling visually.
Going back to the elderlies, I hope that before Mayor Belmonte gets out of the mayorship, he would allow us to view films at any day and any time as Makati provides her constituents. Quezon City is the richest city in all of NCR and there is no reason for it to be able to be more generous to those who have contributed a lot in making this country a better place to live in, democratically.
Those who crafted laws apparently are mocking the state of the elderlies. This is why when I take a public vehicle and say "senior" inevitably the other passengers look at me. And the youth have taken cognizance of this discrimination by riding on it.
I was at Mercury drug store in Kamuning and the sales guy, a certain Marlon refused to answer my question as to how much Vitamin B Complex was. Three times I had to ask him before he would give me an answer. But when a young woman approached him, he readily answered. I pointed this out to him and he gave a lame answer that he was still attending to another customer.
As I was leaving, I told him, "Maybe you are afraid of old age. Don't be afraid of physical disintegration. Because growing old without wisdom is worse." The other senior customers looked at me as I mentioned that. I hope the owners of Mercury would read this.
There are other forms of discrimination. At SM Centerpoint, the janitors hover around me with their mops, as if I have to move out of the premises right away. I think the administration does not do this per se but the guards who are connected with Crame -- as their companies have to get their licenses from them.
So you see Folks, when we have to be true to our politics, we meet all kinds of obstacles especially when we grow old. Our country is not a place for retirement -- except when you have dollars, as the elderly foreign tourists who are being enticed to retire here.
****
I watched Clash of the Titans film, and found something wrong with the word Hades, as the name of the god from the netherworld. Hades in mythology is the name of the underworld and the god there is Pluto. I wonder why the filmmakers changed the name.
Also as I watch those digitally-made animation films, as "How To Train Your Dragon," I find too many objects on the screen, which make them too clattered up. I hope that the filmmakers would use fewer figures, and concentrate on just plain storytelling visually.
Going back to the elderlies, I hope that before Mayor Belmonte gets out of the mayorship, he would allow us to view films at any day and any time as Makati provides her constituents. Quezon City is the richest city in all of NCR and there is no reason for it to be able to be more generous to those who have contributed a lot in making this country a better place to live in, democratically.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
SUNDAY REFLECTION: Holier than thou, Oh no please...
SUNDAY REFLECTION
By Wilhelmina S. Orozco
Many colors of religions exist in our midst. We are being deluged with different views of life, of the spirit. The Catholic Church which is too rigid in her approach to one’s being religious and that is attending its rituals every Sunday, reciting prayers monotonously and in routine, and talking to God indirectly through priests has caused many people to seek other paths. So now we have so many nativistic-style worship: Ang Dating Daan, Oras ng Himala, Mike Velarde’s El Shaddai, Brother Eddie Villanueva’s Jesus is Lord Movement, and many, many more. A foreign-inspired group is The Evangelical Ark Mission International headed by a Nigerian, Tony Marioghae who delivers truly philosophical sermons full of allusions to the Biblical teachings. They have drawn many Filipino women and men to their wings because of their down-to-earth treatment of problems, both individual and social. In every group whose worship I have attended I always find a reference to political leaders, for them to care for the people’s welfare and not their own. Thus relevance to the times is the underlying theme of the latter groups.
Yet I cannot help but be shocked that sometimes the Bible can be used by some pastors to hit at those who have staunch political beliefs, who have their own views of society. Instead of making the worship place pristine, free from political clutter, they bring in the scams of politics, make them go up the stage and try to appear as religious as the people attending there. This is I think a desecration of the meaning of worship.
Worship means service to God, a time for reflection on one’s existence on earth and how relations with oneself, with others, and with the earth is according to the wisdom and teachings of Jesus Christ and the Bible. Instead, sometimes, we have been treated to a political feast, a kind of cursillo of these politicians whose stints can hardly be called spiritual but even be labeled anti-human.
Look at this former MMDA chairman now running for vice president. What did he do during his time? He polluted the streets with his ill-designed foul-smelling toilets for men and made the men feel grand that they could still urinate in public but in style. Instead of building toilets underground where people, both women and men could go down and urinate in clinically clean toilets, he put up urinals for everyone to see in pink colors.
What else did he do? He put up signs on the streets, “Bawal tumawid dito, nakamamatay.” Thus now, the Commonwealth Avenue is declared a death zone because of so many road accidents occurring then. Ironically, the victims are the ones being charged and labeled ignorant of the laws. Why, in the sixties, the signs we would see are: “Pedestrians crossing, slow down,” or “Children crossing, slow down.” Now the people have to race with the cars and vehicles whose drivers drive with impunity. I was nearly run over one time by an oncoming jeep while crossing a pedestrian lane, imagine! That concept that vehicle drivers are the kings of the roads has seeped into the minds of the under-educated drivers that they have the only right to the use of the roads and in their sweet time.
Now tell me, does this candidate deserve a minute of my attention after what he had done to bastardize metroManila? No, Sir, no Madam. He deserves to take a sabbatical leave and give more love to his overly self-sacrificing and intelligent wife. Or maybe give her a break and let her be with a more people-oriented partner.
In a former worship place I had attended, a pastor even started mentioning dogs in his homily – in allusion probably to media watchdogs – as I am from media and used to have a column then, criticizing election cheating. While reciting the homily, he would look down, probably feeling guilty that he is misusing the place of worship for something earthly, even hellish, instead of divine.
The worst I have heard is this reference to a Biblical woman so called unclean because she was menstruating and had touched Jesus Christ as a wish to have her sins washed away. Of all situations about sinning, a reference had to be made of this particular section of the Bible making it highly suspect that the one giving the sermon was hitting at someone in the audience. In effect it became a judgment time for one’s “sins” of choosing to protect one’s freedom in political thinking.
Now where is that soulful character of attendees of worship? Where are the so-called sons and daughters of God there? No, criticism of the powers-that-be is a no-no in religious organizations.
A place of worship where there is no freedom to think, speak and act for all – both women and men – is bound to fail and would lose its attendees. It will only gather the conservatives, those who favour the status quo, of being recognized in the worship place, albeit how narrow, for fear of expanding their spheres of influence, of treading new grounds where they would wager for chances for social recognition,.
Yet members of the group suffer from individual problems not taken care of by the worship leader– like one having an alcoholic husband, another having a domineering and oppressive employer, and others from spouses who hardly have time to give them that caring and loving attention so necessary for keeping the relationship alive because of their businesses or other concerns. The personal is only touched upon in reference to sins that are mostly for cleansing the souls of men – like going to prostitution dens, etc.
Yes, despite the proliferation of these religious groups, there is a corresponding bigger presence of nightclubs with young women offering their physical bodies as come-ons to customers by the doors. It is as if worship could always be done every Sunday and then Monday to Friday is freedom from the spiritual shackles of the Biblical teachings.
No, worship has to be something else. Worship should remain as worship, as a study and reflection on the teachings of the Bible, specifically of Christ, as they relate to one’s life, without being judgmental. Worship should gather people in order to celebrate life that God has given us and point to the way we must give order and joy to every minute of it while interacting with other travelers in this life. May be this is all very cerebral, but then, if I can experience it and others I know can, why can’t worship organizations do the same?
No one, no organization has the sole prerogative to speak about how life should be led, nor to be judged of one’s acts. Everyone has the right to judge only oneself, and not others unless the situation were legal in character, meaning to say there has been a violation of societal order. But I accept prophecies – showing how life should be, how everyone should become, in order that the eyes and hands of God shall remain more kindly at us all throughout our lifetime, in order that God may continue to protect us from those who would harm us, help and guide us in our day-to-day lives so that we may reflect and live according to Christian teachings, and thus guarantee our place in heaven among angels and non-sinners all.
Now the question: should all political leaders be spiritually-attuned? Can an atheist not be a good leader? Must one be a theist in order to be leader? At the moment, many are saying that due to the highly corrupt situation we are in, then a need arises to have spiritual leaders, those who are sensitive to the physical life and the inner life, or the other-worldly. In other words, leaders must be geared towards being reflective all the time if their acts conform to Christian and other spiritual values that glorify God and humanity.
We must remember that the People’s Republic of China shuns all talks of religion, yet it is one of the most prosperous countries in the world. The Soviet Union was also one before it broke up and yet it achieved its objective of raising with the west in modernizing her society. In other words, religion has and had nothing to do with how society was being run.
We could probably leave this hanging and let the people provide their own opinions on this matter. As for now, I prefer having a small space wherever I can and reflect on my own life, without anyone telling me, “Hey I am holier than you are.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)